St. Croix was under Danish control for a long time and that is reflected in the very fine architecture, especially in Christiansted, an example of which is pictured above. Like most of the Caribbean islands, St. Croix was governed by different European countries during colonial times. The British are blamed for the fact that everyone drives on the left even though this is a US territory now -- hence the title "Life in the Left Lane" which is a phrase I saw several times on T-shirts and other souvenirs.

st. Croix is a more or less off the beaten path and that is part of its charm. We came from St. Maarten with Take Time, another Krogen Whaleback, and met a third Krogen, Browlee, which had come from St. Thomas. In addition we discovered a fourth Krogen staying at a marina in Christiansted, making a total of four Krogens together at one time -- an unusually large crowd of Krogens! It gave Paul a great opportunity to commenersate with fellow Krogen owners about maintenance and engine issues.

Buck Island is a national park about two miles north of St. Croix. We anchored here for a couple of days and greatly enjoyed the wonderful snorkeling on the surrounding reef and walking on some trails on land. Since this is a small island, it has been possible to erradicate non-native species of both plants and animals and Buck Island is slowly returning to its original flora and fauna. Unfortunately, the reef, which is really nice, was badly damaged in a storm several years ago, and even our dedicated park service can't do anything about most storm damage.

Point Udall on the very Eastern end of St. Croix has the distinction of being the most easterly point of the whole United States. It's a very pretty drive out there and a monument was erected in 2000. Otherwise, there isn't much at Point Udall except a lovely view.

Christiansted is the capital of St. Croix and the site of much lovely Danish architecture as well as a very nice harbor. Although St. Croix is very definitely a Caribbean island, there are many signs of the mainland U.S. also. This is the only island where anyone at a marina has told us we couldn't go into a certain area because of insurance regulations. This happened when Paul wanted to look at a boat that was on the hard (i.e., stored on land). We also found a K-Mart and other U.S. chain stores. On the positive side, the park areas on St. Croix are well maintained with marked trails and good signs. Unfortunately, the usual situation on most Caribbean islands is that parks and trails are not very well maintanied and taking a guide on hikes is often necessary.

In a exception to most Caribbean islands, the US Virgins don't pay much attention to visiting yachts. We checked in with customs, but were just given a reference number because we didn't owe any duty. Most Caribbean countries give you a formal clearance form both when you check in and when you check out, which you then show to the officials at the next country. Not having a form from St. Croix caused us some trouble when we tried to clear into St. Martin and we will ask for one next time.

Botanical Garden and Whim Plantation are both located in former plantations. In the case of the Botanical Garden the gardens of the former estate have been enlarged around stabilized ruins giving a unique result. The site also includes an orchid house and Oriental garden area. Whim Plantation has more intact buildings including the overseer's unusually shaped house, kitchens, stables and the windmill and other equipment associated with processing sugar cane.